Comments on: Review: The Wild Rose, Jennifer Donnelly

By: Mystica

Mystica — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:52:36 +0000

I haven’t read the first two but I just so love this cover.

By: Marg

Marg — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:45:11 +0000

For me the stand out book in this trilogy will always be The Winter Rose. I liked this book but it didn’t live up to my expectations at all, which were admittedly inflated given that I had been waiting for this book for so long!

By: Kailana

Kailana — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:46:20 +0000

I really need to read this trilogy. At least the first two books have received good reviews.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 22:32:27 +0000

My review sounds pretty similar to yours. I just couldn’t believe in Seamie and Willa’s love. Too much whining.

By: heidenkind

heidenkind — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:22:41 +0000

I’m confused, does Seamie have a phobia about one-legged women or something?

By: bermudaonion (Kathy)

bermudaonion (Kathy) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:54:01 +0000

I’ve heard a lot about this series, but now I’m wondering if it’s for me. I think I’ll try one of her stand alones first.

By: TS

TS — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:18:09 +0000

You make a key point: Don’t expect this to be A Northern Light (or Revolution). Donnelly’s YA books are very different from her adult books. She has spoken about this in interviews — she writes literary books for teenagers to help prepare them for the complexity and challenges of the real world, and page-turner books for adults to help them escape it!

I actually liked Wild Rose a little more (I thought it was clearly better-written than the Tea Rose, albeit with much more flawed and difficult characters), but I agree with you: it — and the others in this series — are great page-turning historical fiction with more depth than most, but they’re not going to reach the literary heights of A Northern Light or Revolution (which, in my opinion, is a true masterpiece, and by no means limited to a YA audience).

By: rhapsodyinbooks

rhapsodyinbooks — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:07:04 +0000

I didn’t like Willa much either, but I thought Seamie was sincere in his desire to want to love whats-her-name, and she lied to him as well. Max was very unsympathetic and less believable for me than Freddy. Also, I would have liked to have had more involvement with India and Syd. Nevertheless, I loved (almost) all of these people from the first two, and wanted to know how they got on. And while I didn’t love this as much as the first two, I still thought, as you did, that it was a good read.

By: Chrisbookarama

Chrisbookarama — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:27:22 +0000

Oh good, I thought it was just me who didn’t like Willa. I figured someone who climbs mountains for fun would be better at overcoming obstacles and do less whining. But I guess not. I agree that her standalones are better, especially A Northern Light.

By: zibilee

zibilee — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:18:59 +0000

I skimmed this review, as I have all three books awaiting my attention sometime soon! I have heard some promising things about the first two, but a lot of people seemed to find the third book a bit underwhelming. I do also have Revolution on my shelves, and may start there.